Page 27 of Serpent King's Revenge

"I suppose I should be calling you sister now?" Alex continued, an ironic twist to his lips.

The amusement was short-lived, replaced with a deep-seated worry that darkened his eyes. He turned away from me, refocusing on the task at hand and addressing the room at large.

Justin stood up, walking up to Alex as Lily let go of him. He exhaled heavily as Alex wrapped him in another hug. “I’m glad you’re okay,” Justin said. “I thought you’d be in San Diego hiding out.”

"Yeah, well, I couldn't leave you alone with all these lunatics," Alex replied.

“Yeah, he wouldn’t let me drive him back,” Jack said. “And Javi and Neon will just do whatever your brother wants. So…well, I was outnumbered.”

“Hey,” Neon—I thought that one was Neon, with brown skin and bleach blond curly hair that was now dark at the roots—said. “I just hate San Diego. It’s lame.”

"Try having your life threatened by a cartel. Makes it less lame, I assure you," Jack retorted, a hint of bitterness lacing his voice, but there was still a smile on his face. “Okay, well…I don’t mean to interrupt your game…but what are we going to do about Nathan?”

“What do you mean?” Alex said. “It seems obvious, doesn’t it?”

“Not really,” I muttered. “He’s locked up at San Mateo, one of the most high-security jails in the nation. It’s not exactly Disneyland.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“It kind of does,” Lily said. “Don’t be an idiot, Alex. What are you suggesting?”

“Well…for me, we only have one option,” he grinned. “We’re going to break him out.”

Chapter Eleven: Abby

Istood rigid in the living room of 118 California, the buzz of Alex's urgent voice mingling with my racing thoughts.

"Look…we have to get Nathan out," he said, pacing like a caged animal.

"Alex, wait." My hand shot up, signaling him to halt. I could almost hear the click of pieces falling into place—my FBI training kicking in amid the chaos. "We need to think this through."

The Zhou siblings were a tight knot of anxiety in the corner, their hushed whispers a low hum against the backdrop of tension. Without Nathan, they seemed smaller, incomplete. I scanned the faces of Justin and Lily, their features echoing Nathan's absence like a silent alarm.

"Every move we've made here hasn't gone unnoticed. You know that, right?" I tried to keep my voice steady, but it trembled with the weight of what we were considering. The risks were colossal; a single misstep could lead us all into an abyss from which there was no return. And I knew from Nathan that Alex was reckless. I couldn’t let him destroy what we’d built.

"I know you’re new to this, but we don't have time for—" Alex began, but I cut him off.

"Listen to me!" I snapped. My pulse thrummed in my ears as I met his gaze squarely. "If we're doing this, we can't afford mistakes. Not with so many lives at stake."

The room fell into a tense silence, punctuated only by the distant hum of the cityoutside. Lily finally cleared her throat and stepped up beside me. “Alex…you need to listen to her. She’s kept us alive. As far as I’m concerned, she’s in charge.”

“She’s not new to this, either,” Justin added. “She knows this stuff. Please, just listen to her.”

Jack rubbed at his stubbled jaw, the lines around his eyes deepening with worry. "I’m with you–and I’m okay with deferring to you on this, Abby,” he said. “But has anyone heard from Evelyn? Maybe she has…”

He trailed off when he saw our faces fall.

“Evelyn is dead,” Derek said, his hand on Justin’s shoulder.

Justin glared at him. “Babe, I told you, I was going to tell Alex.”

“Sorry, it just slipped out,” Derek said, biting down on his lower lip. “I didn’t mean to…I’m…”

Justin’s expression softened, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. “It’s okay,” he said. “We’re all on edge. I get it.”

Jack’s eyes widened for a second. “Shit, sorry, I hadn’t heard…”

“No one has, as far as we know,” Justin said. “The only reason we know is because Nathan saw it happen…but our dad is keeping it hushed up.”

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